If you have a cold, how to eat and drink well to make your body recover as soon as possible
In the alternating season of spring and summer, the temperature is changeable, the temperature difference between day and night is large, and the rain is increasing and the humidity is heavy. It is a season with a high incidence of colds. Whenever I catch a cold, I always receive warm advice from many relatives and friends. A said: “If you have a cold, you should eat a light diet, avoid raw and cold food, and you can’t eat milk, sugar, and ice cream!” B said: “If you have a cold, you should take more vitamin C.” To dispel the cold and detoxify.” Grandma said: “If you have a cold, you should avoid food, and do not eat eggs, milk, mutton, beef, etc.” Some friends sent warm greetings: “If you have a cold, you should strengthen your physique and eat more protein-rich foods.” The food can improve immunity.”
While feeling everyone’s love for themselves, many people fell into another kind of confusion, what should I eat when I have a cold? When you catch a cold, do you want to “avoid food” or increase nutrition?
Taboo, not very helpful for treating colds
Once cold symptoms such as runny nose, fever, and cough appear, many people, especially the elderly, feel that they should avoid food. Eating eggs, milk, sugar, ice cream and other foods will aggravate cold symptoms. In fact, in the doctor’s opinion, not only do these foods not have to be taboo, but they are also helpful for catching a cold.
1. Eggs
Many people of the older generation believe that eggs are “fat” and should not be eaten when they have a cold or fever. Indeed, some people with cold and fever will feel their body temperature rise a little after eating eggs. This is actually a normal reaction. When oxidized and decomposed, it will stimulate the human body to produce additional heat consumption, which will increase the body temperature.
The protein content of eggs is high, and the thermic effect of protein is relatively high, so people with fever will feel that their body temperature has risen a little in a short time after eating eggs. But this heat only lasts in the body for a short while, and has little effect on people’s body temperature.
Under normal circumstances, colds often cause loss of appetite and decreased digestion. But it should be noted that, except for unhealthy food, daily diet does not need to be taboo. Moreover, a cold, cough and fever will increase the energy consumption of the body. If the nutrition cannot keep up, the body will not be able to produce sufficient immunity, which will not be conducive to the recovery of the body. Therefore, sufficient energy should be provided, and special attention should be paid to the intake of high-quality protein, such as beef and mutton, fish, Shrimp, eggs, milk, etc., as long as you are not allergic to eggs, milk, shrimp and other foods, and you do not have digestive symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea when you catch a cold, you can eat such high-quality protein foods. If you have a gastrointestinal adverse reaction when you have a cold and fever, you should suspend eating.
2. Cold drink
Whether it is a child or an adult, as long as you want to eat ice cream or sorbet when you have a cold, I am afraid that someone will jump out to stop it: “How can you eat cold when you have a cold? If you don’t think about it? Eating cold drinks will make the cold worse and heal more slowly. ”
In fact, if it’s just a common cold, with a little cough, sore throat, mental health, and no stomach discomfort, you can eat ice cream and sorbet, which can reduce local blood vessel dilation and relieve local swelling and pain.
Vitamin C supplementation is of little use in preventing and treating colds
”If you have a cold, drink some orange juice and add some vitamin C, which can enhance your resistance and make the cold heal quickly.” This saying must be familiar to many people, and they have actually practiced it!
The long-standing anecdote is that vitamin C can prevent and treat colds. In fact, acute infection will cause an inflammatory reaction in the body, and a large amount of antioxidant substances will be consumed during the inflammatory reaction. Supplementing vitamin C can theoretically provide the body with antioxidant substances and reduce or shorten the time of the inflammatory reaction. In actual research, a large number of clinical trials have shown that supplementation of vitamin C has little effect on common colds in the general population. And long-term oral intake of large amounts of vitamin C (intake of more than 1 gram per day) may cause headaches, diarrhea, acid reflux and other discomforts.
For severe infections such as pneumonia and even septic shock, vitamin C supplementation may be helpful, but antibiotics, active respiratory support and other treatments play a decisive role. Moreover, most of the vitamin C required by these groups is administered intravenously, which does not belong to the category of daily supplementation.
Infusion to cure a cold is not necessarily faster than taking medicine
Now, everyone’s understanding of intravenous injection has made great progress compared with previous years. Especially when parents encounter their children with a cold and fever, they are not willing to give their children intravenous antibiotics for treatment. But many people still believe in the fact that “the effect of infusion comes faster than taking medicine”!
One of the biggest characteristics of the common cold is that it is self-limiting, that is to say, no special treatment is required. For patients without complications, the symptoms will gradually relieve and disappear within a week or so.
This sentence has 2 hidden meanings. First, the common cold is mostly caused by viral infection. Whether it is taking medicine or intravenous injection, it will not shorten the course of the disease. It can only relieve symptoms to a certain extent and make people feel more comfortable during the cold process. Second, a small number of colds are caused by bacterial infection, which can be cured without medication; in rare cases, it may cause relatively serious complications, so these patients can take appropriate medication to help relieve symptoms, shorten the course of the disease and improve the prognosis.
In the case of medication, the therapeutic effects of oral medication and intravenous injection are similar, and because the intravenous infusion needs to be pricked, it will bring corresponding risks. Only a small number of patients will use this method of treatment: ① Patients who cannot eat due to gastrointestinal discomfort, gastrointestinal bleeding, vomiting, etc., and need to maintain the basic metabolism of the body through fluid replacement; ②Patients with severe diarrhea, or high fever leading to dehydration, profuse sweating, or electrolyte imbalance may be properly fluidized when they have a cold ; ③ Some elderly people or children may experience symptoms such as loss of appetite, diarrhea, and vomiting due to colds, and are prone to hypokalemia reactions.
Most colds caused by viral infections can get better on their own in about a week without complications; if they cause fever, poor spirits, and continuous loss of appetite, you should go to the hospital for treatment.
In contrast, it is more important to do these 3 points well when you have a cold
1. Drink plenty of water
As far as the cold is concerned, drinking plenty of water has its reasons. Common symptoms of a cold include itchy throat, sore throat, cough, and expectoration. Drinking plenty of water can relieve the symptoms, and at the same time help dilute the sputum to prevent the sputum from being too viscous and facilitate the discharge of the sputum.
As for whether it is better to drink hot water or cold water, you can choose according to your actual situation and preferences. If you have a sore throat and feel comfortable drinking cold water, drink cold water. If your throat feels itchy, drinking hot water can moisten your throat, then drink hot water, or some flavorful chicken soup or vegetable soup.
2. Get more sleep
Sleep can quickly repair the human immune system. I was exhausted the day before, but as long as I get a good sleep, I can instantly “come alive” when I wake up the next day. In fact, a cold is similar. When you have a cold, your body’s immune function will decline. Sleeping well can strengthen your body’s immune system and help it play an antiviral role.
Special attention should be paid to the fact that sleeping here does not mean simply lying down, let alone playing mobile phones or watching dramas lying down, but relaxing the body and mind and entering a state of deep sleep, so that the body functions can be relaxed and rested.
3. The diet should be clean and light
During a cold, the diet is recommended to be light. A light diet refers to a low-oil, low-salt, low-sugar, low-fat, and non-spicy diet. The taste is relatively light, but it must be rich in vitamins and trace elements and have high nutritional value. It is worth noting that this is not a bland diet of white rice and vegetables as we generally understand it.
In fact, from the perspective of the disease itself, eating greasy and spicy food after a cold does not have a particularly big impact. However, considering that many people have cough, sore throat, and sometimes ulcers in the mouth when they catch a cold, eating spicy and stimulating foods such as hot pot, maocai, and barbecue at this time will aggravate the discomfort caused by the cold. Therefore, eating a clean and light diet during a cold is to make your body more comfortable.
